


something just like this

by timefornothing



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Cats, Crows, Forests, M/M, Magic, Owls, Shapeshifting, Wolves, as will kagehina, asanoya is gonna happen later probs just wait, get ready it's gonna be wild, i'll post more as they come, idk if i'll put all the animals but theres lots of animals, ill add characters as they appear - Freeform, karasuno except its a cottage in the woods, lol kuroo is actually in this a lot more than i had originally planned, more plot stuff will happen next chapter, my girl Fujii with the return appearance, oikawa is like a bad teacher but he gets a redemption arc courtesy of iwaizumi, past bokuro, this is still mostly just set up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-10-22 08:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10693089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timefornothing/pseuds/timefornothing
Summary: Ukai was just a guy who moved into his grandfather's old cottage and got a lot more than he asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> here i go starting another fic when i haven't even finished other ones
> 
> (there's going to be magic and shapeshifting and animals and ridiculous boys. this is just the intro. enjoy.)
> 
> ((also the title and the lyrics that are gonna be in a few chapters are from 'something just like this' by the chainsmokers ft. coldplay))

"And here it is!"

The door swung up, creaking and groaning the whole way, and when it hit the inside wall, let out a pitiful hiss as a massive cloud of dust swirled up and around, blocking out any view of the inside.

Ukai Keishin's face flattened. "Wonderful," he deadpanned.

Next to him, Takeda blushed. "I know it doesn't look like a lot, but it's great, I promise! It just...needs a little love, is all."

Ukai lifted an eyebrow, giving the small building a once over. "A lot of love, more likely."

Karasuno Cottage was a once beautiful place to stay in the rolling hills of the forest near his childhood home. Many said the forest was ancient, and therefore filled with spirits and magic, but mostly, it was just really hard to navigate between the tightly growing trees. Ukai had grown up exploring these woods with his younger relatives, and so knew the paths that led to his grandfather's cabin by heart. When he was old enough, he left for school, eager to get away from his mother's aggressive decisions about how he should live his life. 

Yet here he was, now 27 years old, and coming back to pick up the pieces.

His grandfather passing had hit his entire family hard. Despite the mysterious old man rarely coming down the mountain (and his rather crass attitude), he was beloved by everyone, and the shock had thrown his family for a loop. A will was discovered when they brought the body down, and Keishin had been left his cottage. It was worded oddly, but the message was clear.

"To my grandson Keishin, I leave you everything I hold dear, this cottage and the world around it. Protect them as if they were your own. The key to unlocking the door is to never open it at all. Don't eat the mushrooms out back."

Well, maybe the last part wasn't so hard to understand.

"Just look inside, at least," Takeda pushed, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a small pat. "It's better on the inside."

Ukai made another face. He sure hoped so. The outside of the cottage was crawling with Ivy, part of the roof and windows crumbling away as the plant took over. The weeds had overtaken the gardens in the front and back, and the pathway was now overgrown with some sort of moss instead of the brick that had been there in his youth. He hadn't been back in nearly 10 years, but he couldn't imagine the cottage had gotten this bad. His grandfather had always kept everything pristine and in line, much like in his relationships.

Refusing to let the bitterness steep into his memories, Ukai followed Takeda inside.

While he wasn't really wrong, Takeda still wasn't totally right about the interior being better. Dust covered every available surface, and Takeda made a mad rush to one of the windows to let some air in. It had a large, open layout, with two doors leading off of the main room, to a bedroom and bathroom, he assumed. There were at least two large windows on each wall, and he knew just by looking at them that they were drafty. Somehow, the cabin had running water, but the sink was moldy, and he didn't even want to look at the bathroom. Still, he and Takeda opened every window to let fresh air through the place, and standing in the middle of the room, he could barely remember his own grandfather standing in that very spot.

"Well...What are you going to do first?"

Ukai looked over to Takeda. "You honestly think I should keep it?"

Takeda smiled mysteriously. He'd had that same look the entire time he and Ukai had grown up in the small town together, like he always knew something that everyone else didn't. He was smaller than Ukai, his glasses taking up half his face, and despite his gangly stature, he always acted as if the world had let him and no one else in on its secrets. "I don't think anyone else could handle living here."

Ukai sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "It'll take a few days to get my stuff up here, and to find a job in town--"

"Oh, the spot's always open for you at my shop!" Takeda responded brightly. "Your grandfather was always good to consult on for natural cures, and I'm positive you couldn't have forgotten everything he taught you."

"Don't you ever get tired of being right?" Ukai grumbled, and Takeda laughed brightly, clapping him on the back.

"Take your time getting yourself set up here, the shop can wait a week or so for you." The he grinned brightly, already moving to head back down the long trail to his car. "Now, come on! No one's seen you in so long, you have to come see my mom and sisters…"

Ukai trailed after him slowly, still mulling over how this was going to change everything. A flash of bright orange caught his eye, and he looked over his shoulder, pausing. The forest was as still and green as ever, staring back at him calmly. Convincing himself it was a trick of the light, he continued down the path, only half listening to Takeda ramble on about how hard it had been to get ahold of him.

The forest watched him go, and something like hope trickled in on the breeze.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've been reading books of old  
> The legends and the myths  
> Achilles and his gold  
> Hercules and his gifts  
> Spiderman's control  
> And Batman with his fists  
> And clearly I don't see myself upon that list

"Lousy...good for nothing...rotten…!"

With one more furious kick of his leg, the vine released its hold on the wall, and Ukai went tumbling backwards down into the dirt. He wheezed on his back a moment, listening to the wind that sounded like it was laughing at him. Honestly, he should be laughing at himself for thinking there wouldn't be this much work involved.

It only took two days, as it turned out, to move all of his things away from his tiny apartment and into the cottage. Before unpacking, he had spent the entire day dusting and sweeping with supplies he had found back in a closet in the bathroom (which he still won't think about). With the windows clean, it was a lot lighter inside Karasuno, and it was easier to see all the cobwebs that had accumulated in the corners of the rooms. 

Odd trinkets were stuffed onto every shelf in the cottage, nestled in among the preserves in the basement and all over the bedroom. Weirdly shaped rocks, knots of grass, a couple gemstones, and even something that kind of looked like a carved bone were what he was finding and consequently ignoring. He'd find a box to shove them in later.

He also found a plethora of unopened containers of wet cat and dog food. Perplexed, he had left them, and instead turned to the mysterious refrigerator. Like the running water, how it was working was an absolute mystery. He had called Takeda (with terrible reception but impeccable wifi, apparently), but the other man hadn't understood the question.

_"Of course the fridge works."_

_"Okay, but how?"_

_"Magic, probably."_

Useless. Realizing he'd rather have a working fridge than complain about not having one, he moved a few cans into the fridge in case a cat finally decided to show up. For all he knew, it left once his grandfather had died.

There was at least one carving on each wall, which he ignored as well. His grandfather had been a superstitious old man, and if he wanted to carve weird things on his walls while he was living, Ukai wasn't going to risk being haunted by getting rid of them.

Day four was scrubbing the everloving shit out of the sinks and bathrooms, and in his mind, day four did not exist.

Day five was unpacking and organizing his meager belongings. Most of his grandfather's cooking utensils and a few of his old sweaters and coats were still in the closet, which helped fill in the gaps in Ukai's own arsenal. He was much taller and broader than his grandfather had been, so the coats would need a little mending come winter. After everything had been unpacked, and he still couldn't figure out how the running water worked in this cottage, he still had a few hours of daylight left. He put the weird bag of straw back under the sink and instead moved outside, leaving the sweatshirt behind. 

It was early spring, so the mountain air still had a bit of bite to it as he moved out into the lazy wind. It rolled around the small clearing, bringing with it the crispness that only this part of the world had. If there was one thing Ukai had missed when he moved into the city, it was the feeling of wildness and openness of the mountain.

He started on the path, picking at the moss with a small shovel and clearing off the bricks so that it was easy to see once more. After that, he moved to tackle the vines on the house, which were much more of a problem than he realized.

"I'm getting weed killer," he grumbled to himself as he laid on his back, not knowing whether a vine was a weed or not. Would Round Up even work on it? Did the small town store even carry Round Up? Takeda might have something else similar to it. Maybe he should head in tomorrow morning and check things out before getting started on weeding the gardens. He should also probably invest in some gloves.

Slowly, he sat back up, tossing aside the vine he had finally managed to pull off. The front and west side of the cottage was now clear, and he'd be able to patch up the windows within the next couple weeks. The cottage didn't have electricity or gas, as far as he could tell, so he'd be banking on those windows holding until he had saved up enough to get this place fitted for it. Would the power companies even come out here? It was pretty far off the beaten path. He wasn't sure anyone other than his family and the occasional park ranger made their way this far up the mountain.

Something orange caught his eye and he turned, squinting as he looked into the sunset. Was it that late already? Apparently, the moss had taken longer than he expected. With a groan, he stood, and decided he'd take care of all the mess tomorrow morning before he went into town. It wasn't like anyone else was around to yell at him for it.

He trudged back into the cottage, kicking off his shoes by the front door and leaving it open. The breeze that was rolling through was refreshing, and after a quick shower, he walked back out to see the sun nearing the horizon. It cast a soft orange glow over everything, and as he reached for his pack of cigarettes, something was knocked off a counter behind him.

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Ukai whirled around. With a huge breath of relief, he set his hand on his chest, mentally willing his heart to slow down. On top of the counter with the sink, a calico cat was staring at him, blinking its large eyes. It was on the smaller size, skinny and lean. Its head was dark with lighter spots trailing around its face before the rest of its golden body finished off in tiny black paws. On the floor, the small bowl rolled steadily away.

"Jesus, cat, you scared me." Ukai leaned down to pick the bowl up, setting it back down next to the cat. The cat watched him, curling its skinny tail around its paws while it watched him. He offered a finger, then rubbed its head gently. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

The cat remained silent, instead looking pointedly down at the cabinet below the sink. After a second, Ukai blinked in realization. "Oh. You want fed. Yeah, sure." Crinkling his nose for talking to a cat, he turned to the fridge, pulling out one of the cans and then reaching for a spoon. The light was dimming steadily, and he realized he'd have to light a fire soon.

"Here you go." He set the bowl on the counter, putting the now half empty can away. The cat eagerly began to eat, almost daintily, and Ukai snorted, turning back to the fireplace. Might as well stay up for a bit and enjoy the nice night now that he had a friend. The matches were kept up on the mantle next to a jar of some weird looking rocks. He threw in a couple smaller logs that he had gathered the day before, lighting them quickly. The darkness settled over the cottage just as one of the logs caught. "I was wondering if you'd ever show up. It'd been a few days, I was almost getting worried I'd find a dead cat back in the garden next week."

"Well, we were supposed to give you a week, but he couldn't wait any longer."

This time, Ukai did jump, smashing his head on the mantle from where he was bent over. Nearly dropping the rest of the long matches into the fire, he scrambled to recover, ignoring the low laugh that was sounding behind him until he had set the matches back on the mantle. Slowly, Ukai took a steadying breath. "Please don't tell me I'm as crazy as that old man and the cat learned to talk."

"I've always been able to talk," it scoffed, and Ukai prayed to any god listening that he wasn't about to be murdered. Not here. _Literally anywhere but this godforsaken shack._

He turned around, eyes squinting in the darkness until his gaze settled on someone leaning on the doorframe that led outside. The figure cocked their head, revealing tall hair that caught the moonlight and shone like onyx. "Don't tell me your eyesight's that bad, you're leagues younger than that old bag. Doesn't he have a stash of candles somewhere?"

"Basement," a second voice sounded, and Ukai had to stop himself from screeching. 

The figure in the door waved its hand--human in the light of the fire, thank god. Wait, why was he expecting something other than human? "You heard him! Get the candles in the basement."

Curiosity overriding his unwillingness to take orders, Ukai quickly moved to the trap door on the side of the room that led to the basement. Fumbling in the darkness for a second, he finally ran into the giant box of candles he had shoved aside the other day while looking for Windex, and hauled it upstairs. Using his own lighter, he quickly lit three, then paused, eyeing the figure in the door.

He didn't have to see it in order to sense the eyeroll. "Honestly, we won't bite, we're not as dumb as those dogs. Kenma just wanted something to eat."

"You were curious, too, don't blame me."

Slowly, Ukai raised one candle and walked towards the doorway. The candlelight spread outwards to reveal a grinning face, skin a few shades darker than his own with sweeping black hair that rested over one eye and a lazy smirk. The man was a few inches taller than him, even as he was leaning against the doorway, bare arms exposed to reveal vaguely threatening muscles. As Ukai got closer, the smirk spread wider, and the man leaned down a bit further. His dark eyes caught the light, reflecting the flicker in a way that made Ukai both awed and terrified.

"Nice to meet formally meet you, grandson."

"Formally?" Ukai questioned, silently thankful his voice was steady while his insides shook. No one else ever came up to the mountain, ever, nevermind the cottage. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"It's supposed to mean we've never met as humans."

Ukai almost dropped the candle as the second voice sounded again. Where the first voice dripped like a sickly sweet jam, the second was quiet, soft in a way that reminded him of a deep pond. Regaining his hold, he moved quickly to the counter, where a smaller man was leaning back on both arms next to an empty bowl.

This one was much shorter, hair about chin length and the same golden as the cat's fur had been before. He had on a loose jacket of some sort, and looked like he was ready to fall asleep. Blinking quickly, Ukai questioned, "Human?"

With a dramatic sigh, the first man moved into the room, taking a seat for himself at the dining table. He relaxed comfortably into the seat like it was his own home, kicking up his bare feet. This one was wearing a sleeveless black tank top and red shorts, and he kept the smirk as he looked up. Closer to the fire, it was easier to see he was a few years younger than Ukai, probably closer to 18, while the one on the counter was even younger. 

Leaving a candle on the counter for the younger man--he was terrified, not rude--Ukai set another on the other counter and then returned to the dining room table, sitting opposite the first man as he spoke.

"Obviously, you haven't been filled in on anything yet." The man yawned, then gestured. "That's Kenma. He's very particular about his food, and he'll probably hang around the most."

"I prefer room temperature except in the summer," Kenma responded on cue, and Ukai nodded warily before turning back.

"And I'm Kuroo. We're some of your new housemates!" He spread his arms dramatically, and Ukai stared for a few moments.

"Housemates?"

Kuroo grinned mischievously. "I'm not allowed to go into more detail than that."

Ukai frowned, fear forgotten. "Why the hell not?"

"Daichi's rules." Kuroo shrugged, looking at his nails. "The old windbag left some specific instructions with him and him alone, and none of us are allowed to tell you anything until Daichi's given you his spiel."

"So...why come tonight?"

Kuroo grinned again. "Like I said, Kenma couldn't wait." He looked over, then stood. "We'll be heading out now that he's done. Thanks for the hospitality." He rolled his eyes, and Kenma hopped off the counter nimbly. Ukai stood rapidly, sputtering.

"Wait, you can't just leave!" He followed them to the doorway. "Who's Daichi? Why does he have a spiel? Did you call my grandfather a _windbag?!"_

Kuroo waved once over his shoulder. "See you soon, grandson! Suga likes sweet things!" Kenma didn't even turn around. Within seconds, they were swallowed up by the shadows of the trees, and Ukai looked hopelessly up at the stars just beginning to come out in the sky above him.

What the hell was that?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol what's an update schedule

Ukai woke up in the morning with a headache and a weird feeling that the mold from the sinks was making him have weird dreams.

After his morning cigarette and stale coffee from the day before, he threw the mug in the sink, resolutely ignoring the still dirty bowl. He cleared off the moss and dead vines from his front yard, and around noon, started the walk down to his car.

On the drive into town, his mind was whirling. It _had_ to have been a dream. Or a hallucination. His grandfather had mentioned the mushrooms, but maybe the mold was toxic as well. Maybe there was something weird in all those small bags he found around the cabin. Maybe he was just honestly going crazy after being on his own for five days.

If he was losing it after five days, there was no way he was going to make it out here.

"Afternoon, Ukai!" Takeda called brightly as Ukai walked into his store. "How's your first few days been?"

"...Interesting," Ukai finally settled on, giving a glance around the store. He hadn't been in here in years, but it was still easy to see the changes Takeda had made since he took over for his old grandmother. The signs stating each herb were now easier to read, placed directly in front of each bunch on the walls and the containers. Uses for the more common ones were listed on signs around the store as well, and overall, it was organized into similar groups. 

The store had been an apothecary, then a candy shop, then both, then a bakery, before finally turning into a general goods store. There was still a small baked goods section next to where the general groceries began, and Ukai eyed it before turning back to Takeda.

"You got any weed killer?"

"Oh, getting started on the garden?" He asked, smiling as he came around the counter. Without waiting for an answer, he led the way to an archway Ukai hadn't even see before. "Yeah, the weeds have always been killer up there." They ducked through, coming into a completely separate section of the store. "It's probably all the animals that run through there, dragging the seeds on their fur and dropping them."

Ukai froze, giving Takeda a careful look. "Animals?"

"Duh," Takeda snorted. "You're up in the mountains, there's tons of wildlife up there. If you're really worried about it, you can always put up chicken wire or something."

"Uh," Ukai gave him a look, then shook his head. "Okay, yeah. Alright. But--what's this?" He waved generally around them when Takeda looked back. "When the hell did the store get so big?"

"Oh! We bought out the grocer when he retired." Takeda smiled, still walking briskly. "Now I run both parts!" They finally came to an aisle where Takeda pulled down a large bottle, making Ukai grin.

Round Up.

Those weeds were about to meet their maker.

He paused, then glanced back the way they had come. "Also, I might need something else."

 

 

By the end of day six, all of the vines had been removed from the cottage, the front gardens were weed free, and Round Up had been sprayed absolutely everywhere. On day seven, he started on the back gardens, which were a much bigger task.

Where the front gardens had mainly been small bunches of herbs, the back gardens contained vegetables of every shape and kind, and even a few fruit trees off to one side. In a lot of cases, it was hard to distinguish the weeds from some of the plants, and he was resigned to going to get more seeds within the next few days to try and replant some of these. 

The sun at two in the afternoon was beating down on his bare back, and he swore under his breath that he had left his usual headband inside. Why would he forget it? He wore it just about every day. Swiping a hand across his head once more to try and use the sweat to keep his hair back, he watched as two more chunks fell back immediately.

"Son of a--"

A crackle behind him interrupted him, and he spun around, eyes widening. A dark grey coyote was behind him, crouching with incredibly intelligent eyes as it returned his stare.

His headband was in his mouth.

Very slowly, the coyote lowered its head and dropped the headband on the ground. It took a few steps back, still watching him carefully, and once it was a few feet away, took off for the trees once more, disappearing immediately into the underbrush.

Ukai took the headband in his hands, staring down at it as his heart slowly began beating once more. He swallowed, pulling it on and almost swooning in relief at the feeling of his hair being out of his face. With one last glance to where the coyote had disappeared, he turned back to his gardens, grabbing the bottle of Round Up.

"I've gotta stop leaving that door open."

Around him, the forest laughed silently, and waited.

 

"Maybe it's gravity?" Ukai cocked his head, using one hand to towel dry his hair as the other turned the knobs off. "Gravity can make water run like this, right?"

_Except there's no well around, and no water towers except for in town, and no pipes underground, and--_

Ukai groaned, smacking his head against the wall. He was never going to understand how the hell anything in this cottage worked. Throwing the towel back on the hook, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and moved back out into the dining room.

Living in the cottage his first week had been bizarre, to put it lightly, but he felt like he was finally getting comfortable. He knew where everything was now, he had plans for how to improve some of the organization, and he felt like the garden was actually looking like a garden again. He'd have to find some way to cut all this grass, and it'd take a lot of getting used to, but he'd finally figured out the old gas stove. He couldn't explain how good it felt to finally have fresh coffee again. 

Propping a chair outside his front door and lighting up a cigarette, he sat down to watch the sun set. Really, it was calm up here, and that was probably what he needed. The city life had been exciting, sure, but he didn't always...fit in. Even with his friends, he had always been the odd one out. He always felt obligated to help them, even when it was unwanted. He had always been the mom friend, always the first to help out, which had incidentally gotten him in trouble quite a few times. Combine that with his strange fascination of the outdoors, it was no wonder he was an oddball. Nevermind his weird sixth sense always kicking in, or the strange things he could sometimes do--

He shook his head, ignoring that.

Now wasn't the time for introspection. He'd need at least another month in the crazy cabin before he ever took a look at those thoughts.

Just before the sun set completely, he turned to go inside, lighting a few candles around the room. Ukai pulled out a couple books he found in his grandfather's bedroom, meaning to go through them.

 _His_ room. It was his room, now.

The journals looked like mostly gibberish, weird symbols drawn all over the place next to pictures that didn't make any sense. Besides being kind of crazy, his grandfather had been a terrible artist, and it was hard to distinguish whether these drawings were a dog or a bulldozer. 

There was a clatter outside his front door, and he whipped his head up, looking to see the chair he had been in a few moments before laying on the ground. Ukai frowned. It wasn't nearly windy enough to knock a wooden chair over.

And then a wolf stepped through the doorway.

Ukai jumped up, thankful the table was between them. "The hell--" The wolf's fur was silver, amber eyes catching the candlelight and making it look like they were burning. The animal was calm, stopping a few steps into the house and watching him. Ukai was definitely not calm. How do you deal with a wolf? If only he'd learn to close that damn door--

There was a scrabbling noise across the house, and as he startled, Ukai saw a crow land on one windowsill and a large, horned owl on the other. Both birds blinked at him, sitting calmly.

Outside, he could hear more footsteps of things approaching, and chills rolled down his spine. What was going on? Was this his grandfather's revenge for ditching him all those years ago? Was karma finally coming back around from the incident? Were there actually mountain spirits, and they were coming to kill him for trespassing? Oh god, _was some sort of spirit here to kill him because he tore away all those vines???_

The sun set below the horizon, throwing the room into darkness for a second before his eyes could adjust to the candle light. In that split second, the wolf's form shimmered before melting altogether, expanding and churning until a man was straightening back up from a bowing position. His hair gleamed with the same silvery sheen the wolf's had, impish amber eyes sitting calmly in a relatively kind face. His plain white shirt hung off of lean shoulders, muscled legs ending in dirty bare feet on the cottage floor.

There was a crash off to the side, and Ukai's heart froze as he turned to look. Where the crow had been, a tall boy with raven-dark hair was leaning against the windowsill, blue eyes blinking at him. Off the ground, another man sprung up, grey hair crested above his head like a bad gel job. He had on dark grey and brown clothes, and his golden eyes squinted as he let out a wild cackle.

"Shit, I always forget I can't balance on that sill as good as I can when I'm an owl--"

"Bokuto, hush," a voice echoed in from outside, and turning back to the front, Ukai watched as five more men walked in behind the grey-haired one. They were all taller than the first, their dark brown hair looking almost black in the moonlight while another's was a soft brown, sweeping across his forehead. One of them, thankfully, Ukai recognized, but it did little to still his trembling hands.

Kuroo sat unceremoniously at the table, leer back in place. "Good to see you again, grandson."

One of the men frowned, muscular arms crossing. Before he could speak, the grey-haired man's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands together in front of his chest.

"Daichi! He got sweets!"

Kuroo grinned wider, winking at Ukai, who in turn swallowed.

So it hadn't been a dream.


	4. Chapter 4

Ukai stared at the boys surrounding him, shock finally settling into a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he heard his mother screaming at him, _"Welcome your guests in! Give them some tea!"_ and he jumped, gesturing to the table.

"Uh, have a seat?" He cleared his throat, pointing now. "Please, sit. I'll, uh, I'll start some tea."

"No need," the grey-haired man waved his hands, moving towards the kitchen. "I make the best, don't worry about it." He glanced from the sweets back to Ukai, who nodded quickly.

"Oh, yeah, sure, go ahead. They're for you guys."

Pleased, the man grabbed the sack of baked goods, quickly pulling out a donut before he turned to grab the kettle and some tea leaves off of the shelves. Thank God he had grabbed some in town yesterday. If he could appease the angry spirits that were maybe there to kill him with sugar, he was more than willing to buy donuts when he could. Nervously, Ukai turned back to the rest of them, who were all waiting around the table.

Kuroo was already sitting at the table, looking eagerly to the bag of sweets that the other one had yet to share. Seated next to him were the two darkest-haired ones. They both had dark brown hair over well-tanned skin, although their postures were different. One was prickly looking and frowning, like he really didn't want to be there, and the other, with a close cropped hairstyle, looked like he was attempting a comforting smile. Behind the prickly looking one stood the boy with soft brown hair, who was one of the tallest present even as he leaned on the back of the chair. He offered a cheeky wave, and Ukai quickly looked at the rest of them. The two who had come through the windows were now moving towards the table, the black-haired one taking up a comfortable stance behind the kind-looking one, and the crazy-haired one who had fallen was now sitting in a chair, though he was still bouncing. The last of the ones who had come through the door was standing behind him, face calm but thoughtful.

Names. The first thing Ukai would need was names.

"Please, sit," Kind Face gestured, and smiled patiently. "This could potentially take a while."

"Really? You're kidding," Ukai deadpanned, and Crazy Hair barked out a loud laugh.

"I like him already!"

"Bokuto," Thoughtful behind him hissed, then returned his gaze to Ukai. Maybe he should change his nickname from Thoughtful to Judging.

Slowly, Ukai moved to take the last remaining seat, trying to ignore the way Kuroo was still grinning. He'd never been confrontational, and being outnumbered like this was giving him the chills. In the kitchen, he heard another donut being devoured.

"So," Kind Face started, and Ukai raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

"Welcome to Karasuno!" He smiled, interlacing his fingers in front of him as he placed his hands on the table. "It seems like you've settled in nicely."

"Uh huh…" Ukai couldn't help it as his eyes slid to the other boys again. "If you've all been watching like that coyote, no doubt you've noticed."

Almost minutely, the fingers clenched tighter on the table. Kind Face's smile turned tight, and he shot a look to Kuroo. "Noya's been here?"

Kuroo made a face. "Don't look at me."

Soft Hair grinned, voice like satin with a hidden undertone of barbed wire. "I thought he was just a really tiny wolf?"

Crazy Hair laughed loudly again, "So did I! I thought Fujii was the only coyote!"

Kind Face sighed, and looked back to Ukai. "Sorry about that. We weren't supposed to be interacting."

Ukai lifted an eyebrow. "You could have at least helped."

Kuroo responded instead, half shrugging. "I told you before, we weren't supposed to until a week had gone by."

"Which someone decided to ignore," Prickly pointed out gruffly, only making Kuroo smile again. 

"I'm sorry, I just--" Ukai watched them all warily, confused. "Who are you? Why are you here? How does that one," he pointed to Kuroo, "know my grandfather, and that one," now he pointed to Grey Hair in the kitchen, "know where all the teas are?"

Kind Face stopped sighing long enough to shoot a glance to Grey Hair, then turned back to Ukai. "Which question do you want answered first?"

What?

"Who you are, I guess."

"My name is Daichi," Kind Face pointed to himself, then gestured to Grey Hair, "That's Sugawara."

"Oikawa! Wonderful to meet you!" Soft hair waved pleasantly, then put both his hands on the shoulders of Prickly in front of him. "This is Iwaizumi."

"Bokuto!" Crazy Hair proclaimed, then pointed to the boy with black hair and blue eyes, "That's Tobio, and this one is Akaashi."

Judging lifted an eyebrow. "Hello."

Man, that was a lot of names to remember. "Ukai Keishin."

"It's nice to meet you," Kind Face--Daichi--smiled at him. "We've been waiting for quite a while."

"For me?" Ukai blanched. "What? How? Why?"

"Yes, for you." Daichi settled more comfortably into his chair, leaving his hands clasped in front of him. All around, it looked like the other boys were settling in to listen. As his eyes adjusted to the candlelight, Ukai noticed that most of them were in fact boys. None of them could be much older than 18 or 19. Daichi cleared his throat, making Ukai draw his attention back forward.

"Your grandfather has lived here since he was a boy."

"I know that," Ukai snorted. "Since he was 16 and ran away from his family."

Daichi smiled patiently. "Yes, true. But did you know he was a powerful sorcerer?"

Ukai's mind blanked.

"Tea!" Suga called brightly into the silence, pulling the kettle off of the fire. "Who wants some?"

About half of the group raised their hands, and Ukai followed suit, still trying to make himself believe he wasn't just hearing things. Everyone remained silent--some better than others--as Suga distributed mugs and tea and finally set the much lighter sack of donuts in the center of the table. Ukai ignored his mug in front of him, finally asking, "Sorcerer?"

"He could use magic," Kuroo clarified, mouth full of donut, and Ukai glared half-heartedly.

"I know what a sorcerer is." Kuroo grinned, powder falling off his cheeks, and Ukai looked back to Daichi. "He was?" As far fetched as it sounded, it was sort of making sense. The weird symbols around the cottage, the bags of rocks and other herbs, _how the hell the fridge was running._

"He was! One of the most powerful, I'd say." Daichi chuckled as he blew on his tea to cool it down. "Although he wasn't always."

"So, are you…" Ukai waved a finger at everyone. "Are you all sorcerers, too?"

Iwaizumi's brows lowered, and Bokuto made a pained face. Daichi's mouth quirked oddly at one corner before he responded, "Not...quite. You are, however."

Across the room, a window slammed closed.

"I'm a what."

Suga took up standing next to Daichi, reassuring smile in place. "You're a sorcerer as well, just like your grandfather! It skips a generation quite often, so you're nothing unusual. Well, except for your powers, maybe, but--"

"Suga," Daichi interrupted kindly, "Give him a second, maybe?"

Bokuto was finally settling back down after jumping from the noise the window made, and he looked back at Akaashi before he turned to Ukai. "You can do magic, too! You were given this cottage for a reason, duh. Why else did you think you liked it so much, city boy?"

Iwaizumi's palm met his face silently. "We really need to separate you and Tanaka."

Nothing was making sense anymore. It was one whirlwind after another of odd fact that shouldn't be happening, and Ukai couldn't keep up. Shapeshifting people and animals? His grandfather could do magic? _He_ could do magic? A buzzing in his ears had began the moment Suga had transformed in front of him, and if anything, it had only gotten worse.

But what the crazy animal-people were saying made sense. His grandfather had always been able to do things with herbs and poultices that no one else could do. The running water in the cottage, the strange toys he had always made for Ukai as a boy, the stories he told...They couldn't be explained. He had always written it off as having an overactive imagination as a child, but maybe he hadn't been wrong.

And then there was his intuition. How he could sense things before they happened, how candles would light themselves, the window slamming closed, the incident with the boy and the train--

"I can do magic." Ukai looked down at his tea, still giving off steam as the leaves settled into the bottom of his cup. "I'm magic."

 _"Use_ magic is the proper term," Oikawa corrected breezily, waving a hand. "You aren't inherently magic, you can just use it."

Ukai gave him a look, but turned to Daichi as he began speaking once more.

"Your grandfather practiced up here for years, even after his wife left him." He looked down at his hands, focusing. "Magic and unlocking its secrets were his life's work. Over time, he accumulated a few students, who he taught his own secrets of transformation. It was his specialty, really." 

Suga cleared his throat, and Daichi straightened back up, a smile plastered across his features. "A few of us were his students! But, thanks to some magic gone wrong, we're stuck as animals during the day and humans at night." He pointed vaguely around the cabin. "There's many more of us, we're just the welcoming committee. As you're the owner of this cabin, now, you've also inherited the title of Guardian."

"Guardian?" Ukai clarified, just to make sure he was understanding this new load of bullshit.

"Guardian, yes, of the forest and its spirits."

Ukai's lips pressed into a firm line. "So forest spirits are a thing."

"Not the kind you're thinking of!" Bokuto was quick to clarify.

"But considering you're hosting quite a few right now," Oikawa smirked at him, "Yes, I'd say they are."

Ukai sighed heavily, closing his eyes. "And I'm supposed to just...jump right into this role?"

Daichi seemed taken aback. "You mean you don't want it?"

"Of _course_ I don't want it!" Ukai finally exploded, chest tight. "My grandfather hated me most of my life! Even when I finally left, he wouldn't leave me alone. If anything, I came out here to get away from all this bullshit that's been happening to me. I don't want this magic, I don't want to be a Guardian, I didn't even want _this cabin,_ but--"

"But you still said yes."

Akaashi finally spoke, and everyone turned to look at him. His dark eyes hadn't changed expression once this entire time, and Ukai found himself speechless as he looked at the boy.

"You still said yes, because you knew you had to."

Ukai swallowed, "I don't have to do anything--"

"Yes, you do, and you will." Akaashi's shoulders shifted minutely, but Ukai could still feel the change in atmosphere. "Your grandfather is the reason that any of us are still here. He kept us here, away from our homes and our families, and he protected us and the town below from the evils that dwell here. By rites of the Ancient Magics, you inherit his burden. You know you were always meant to protect, Ukai Keishin, and you will do so."

The room was silent, save for the soft wind outside. The wind was whispering amongst itself, and Ukai wished he could hear it. He had said yes, hadn't he?

_He was always going to say yes._

"He really did hope you'd like the cabin."

Now Ukai turned to Suga, who was still watching him carefully. With a hesitant smile, he added, "Even when he got older and it was much harder for him to take care of, he hoped you'd like it."

Ukai swallowed hard, the same lump still stuck in his throat.

"I understand it's a lot to take in, which is why only a few of us came," Daichi told him softly, which made Bokuto snort. "However, as I said before, we have been waiting for quite some time, and there are some things you need to start taking care of, as is your duty as Guardian."

"How long until I have to?" Ukai asked quietly, mind still reeling slowly from the outbursts.

"You can have another two days, but no more." With a sense of finality, Daichi stood. "If you need help with anything, we're the ones to come to. Oikawa, Bokuto, Kuroo, and myself are the representatives for most of the forest population, and we've been around the longest. Though I doubt you'll need it." His smile was kind. "You've always belonged here. Starting in two days, they'll start coming to you for help, day or night, so I suggest you don't lock this door."

Ukai rolled his eyes. "Right, got it." The rest of the boys started standing as well, only Akaashi moving towards the sink to drop off his mug. Daichi clapped a hand on Ukai's shoulder with a smile, then turned to lead the way out into the night. One by one, they all called out their goodbyes, and Kuroo even punched him on the shoulder before he walked out. The boys slipped easily into the woods, just as they would have if they were the animals they claimed to be. The light of the barely waxing moon was more of a dull glow, and Ukai took a deep breath as he looked up at the stars.

"He didn't hate you."

Ukai turned quickly, spotting Akaashi walking back from the sink. His eyes gleamed unnaturally in the light, and Ukai almost took half a step back before he reminded himself that they were human. _They're only human._

Akaashi's glare evened out as he paused for a second, only a few inches away from Ukai. They were of similar heights and build, and looking into his dark eyes, Ukai got the feeling that this boy was much older than he appeared. The gaze softened a tad more before he spoke with a voice much softer than he had used during the meeting.

"He just didn't want you to make the same mistakes."

Akaashi turned then, walking much more slowly down the path and into the forest. A loud call broke out from one of the others before fading into the night, and Ukai was left alone in his cottage.

Karasuno suddenly felt much bigger than before.


	5. Chapter 5

Two days. He had two days to get his bearings before he had to start helping out the spirits in the forest and become a Guardian.

He wanted to laugh at himself for how ridiculous that sounded. How the hell did he get wrapped up in this? Wasn't moving out to the wilderness supposed to make your life simpler? And what even did a Guardian do? Was he supposed to pull burrs out of their fur? Feed whatever cat came this way? Settle disputes between who got which tree branch?

He laid in his bed, mind swarming with questions. Despite how much he wanted to just leave and forget about all of this, he couldn't. Akaashi had been right: he was always going to say yes. He felt a sense of duty towards this place, despite the negative memories associated with it. How could he just leave a bunch of kids to their own devices?

Although, kids seemed to be debatable. They all handled themselves--with the exception of a couple--like adults, if not people who had at least seen some things. The effect was kind of creepy, having so much wisdom behind young eyes.

A sharp yowl made Ukai flinch, sitting up quickly in his bed. Throwing on a pair of sweatpants, he slammed open his bedroom door, immediately scowling when he saw what had made the noise.

A large, longhaired black cat was sitting on his table, the door to the outside wide open. The black cat's hair was shorter and rougher on one side of its head, making it look like it had one half of a mohawk. The cat's tail flicked in amusement, and Ukai's face flattened further.

"Don't tell me. Kuroo?"

The cat _mrowed_ cheekily, standing up and flicking his tail. Ukai sighed heavily before looking back at the cat. "What do you want? Daichi said I had two days."

The cat gave him a look that said he clearly didn't care, and proceeded to hop off the table and head for the door. Ukai grabbed the t-shirt from the day before that he had left on the floor and hurried after him, slipping on running shoes before following the cat around the back of his house.

"If this is about food again, I'm locking the door," Ukai called ahead of him, and Kuroo ignored him, instead choosing to jump through a particularly dense part of the underbrush. Ukai rolled his eyes. "You realize how small you are? I'm going to lose you in there." He stepped over his garden, reminding himself he should probably be planting soon, easing himself through the bushes. It was a tight squeeze for a full grown man, and Ukai set his jaw as he picked his way through. Every so often, he'd catch a glimpse of Kuroo's fluffy tail, and continued shoving his way through, making his way further and further from the cottage. Pushing one branch away from his face, he stumbled through the last of it and almost fell on his face before he caught himself.

Kuroo chirped, and Ukai glared at the cat, who was sitting pleasantly just a few feet away, no worse for wear. 

"Thanks for the help, Kuroo…" Ukai's voice trailed off as his gaze landed further away, on something that definitely looked like a lump of fur. _Oh no._

Kuroo definitely indicated _I told you so,_ and turned to walk over to it. Brushing off his arm, Ukai crept around slowly until he realized it was a rabbit, ears pricked and trembling as it watched him get closer. The rabbit's soft brown fur was speckled with darker patches of brown, especially around the face. Wrapped around one awkwardly bent leg was a loosely spun rope of some sort, like it had been caught in a trap. A poorly made one, at that, but a trap nonetheless. 

Two feet away, another rabbit was watching anxiously, their soft fur closer to a sandy brown as they twitched. Ukai glanced warily to Kuroo. "Friends of yours, I'm assuming?" He crouched down, slowly easing onto his knees to get a better look at what he was dealing with.

"Easy, thumper, stay still for me," Ukai told the rabbit in what he hoped was a soothing voice. Not like it could respond. He really needed to stop talking to animals. Regardless, the rabbit's twitching slowed down minutely, and it looked like it was attempting to slow its breathing. Kuroo moved closer to the other rabbit, allowing it to lean against him as Ukai examined the trap. The twine was wrapped around the base of one tree and stretched outwards to the rabbit, most likely a slip-knot or a noose. He tried to tug on it, but it barely budged, and he hated the way he made the rabbit squirm with discomfort.

"Shit, I didn't bring a knife or anything." Ukai looked up to Kuroo. "Can't you chew through it?" Kuroo gave him a look, and Ukai looked down again to find teeth marks all along the rope...which he was now seeing was plastic of some kind. Not very easily chewed through. Or picked at, with fingers. "Well, how am I supposed to--"

A rustling behind him stopped him short, and he looked up to see the same coyote from before leaping out of the bushes he had came from. This deep in the woods, their grey fur almost verged on black, darker paws easily spotted in the bright green foliage. They stopped just in front of him, dark eyes blinking once before they lowered their head and dropped his Swiss Army knife on the grass.

Ukai stared at it, then back up to the coyote. "Did you break into my cottage again?" The coyote blinked at him, tail swishing once, agitated. Before he could guess, more crashing sounds came through the bushes from the other side of the clearing, and he looked to spot two more animals jump through. 

One was either a really big coyote or a rather small wolf, mottled grey with a lighter patch of fur on its forehead and slim legs. They pulled up to a spot easily, sending a confused whine in the direction of the other coyote. Behind him, a stag scrambled to a stop, dark eyes staring threateningly at Ukai as it huffed. Its antlers towered up above it, making for a very imposing presence.

"Great, an audience," Ukai mumbled, and Kuroo hissed, bringing him back to the moment. With another glance at the coyote--now sitting primly next to the practically vibrating bigger one--he grabbed his knife and flipped it open casually. The sand colored rabbit visibly started, but Kuroo put a paw on its head, holding it down.

With his knife, it was easy to slice through the plastic twine, and he tried to do it as quickly as possible--one, because it looked like that sandy rabbit was about to have a heart attack, and two, because the longer this rabbit was here, the more it began twitching again, and he did not want to screw this up. With a final cut, it snapped, and the rabbit practically face planted as it scrambled free. It nearly tackled the other rabbit, Kuroo hurriedly jumping out of the way. The deer hesitated, one hoof pawing at the grass before it too charged forward, shoving its nose into the pile the two rabbits had made. Both Kuroo and the coyotes had to jump out of the way of its antlers, and Ukai watched in fascination as each animal approached the rabbit. With a smirk on his face--or as much of one as a cat could muster anyways--Kuroo came and sat next to Ukai, looking up at him. 

Ukai rolled his eyes, shoving him gently, "Okay, you're welcome, whatever." He looked back up to the animals, then over to the trap. "That was obviously put here by someone, though. Is someone, like...hunting up here?" He looked down at Kuroo, confused. "These grounds are a protected forest, I thought. No one's supposed to be hunting up here."

Kuroo shrugged, tail curling around his paws before he looked back to the rest of the animals. Ukai followed his gaze, and blinked rapidly when he noticed they were all staring at him. Their stares held the weight of gratitude, and not for the first time, Ukai wondered what Daichi had meant when he said representatives for the others. He had assumed animals, and they spoke for them since the other animals couldn't. But with the way these rabbits were sitting with two rather large predators so close...were the other animals humans as well?

"You're welcome," Ukai offered meekly, and the deer nodded in return. With its nod, the rabbits and the deer moved swiftly away, back into the forest. The larger coyote barked once before following them, and the smaller coyote narrowed its eyes at Ukai.

"Is it...mad at me?" Ukai asked Kuroo quietly, who abruptly let out something that sounded like a laugh. Ukai glared at him, but Kuroo stood, leaping over to the coyote before they, too, turned and left. He watched them go, then frowned and looked around.

"Wait a minute, how do I get back to the cottage from here?!"

 

After cutting away the rest of the rope and shoving it in his pocket, Ukai spent the rest of day eight exploring the forest around him, even if it wasn't what he had originally wanted to do. Slowly, he started to be able to pick up on little trails the animals had made, and he tried his best not to disturb them. They criss-crossed all over his side of the mountain, and when he got back after sunset, he felt like he had hiked ten miles or more.

There was a stream a little east of the cottage, one he remembered playing in as a kid. Fondly, he found the large rock he used to jump off of into the deeper parts. South of his cabin was a rather large clearing with tamped down grass, which meant that the animals must run through here pretty often. The edge of his front yard was just a few yards beyond the dense bushes, and he supposed this would be a good meeting place for when more of them would show up. On the west side of his cabin was all forest, as far as he explored. It was denser over here, and less easy for him to maneuver, so he turned back. North was easier to walk through forest, and he spotted some of the plants he remembered his grandfather collecting. He'd need to make a map soon.

Kicking his shoes off, he drug his feet inside, going immediately for the fireplace. He hadn't eaten much, and he was dying for a hot meal. Vaguely, he wondered if he could rig a microwave to work up here. Probably, since a fridge wasn't out of the question. He'd have to learn how to use magic, though. Yet that wasn't out of the question either. Daichi had told him he could use magic, right? Man, that explained a lot. So he wasn't as crazy as he had thought. Especially since with his old apartment--

Nope, nope, no, not thinking about that.

With the fire started, he cracked open one of his cans of soup and moved over to the stove. He was also going to get sick of canned food real soon. Add that to the list of things to do tomorrow. So far, it was seeming like his schedule was going to be two or three days of cottage stuff followed by one day of trips into town, rinse, and repeat. The darkness was edging in on the kitchen, and he squinted down at the pan. Honestly, candles were so impractical. Surely he could find something better.

"You gonna make enough to share?"

Ukai dropped the bowl he was holding, grabbing the counter it clattered onto. He whipped around, already knowing who to expect. "Will you stop that?"

Kuroo looked up innocently from where he was sitting on the table, on the side closest to the fire. "Quit what?"

Ukai sighed, turning back to the oven. "All I'm making is soup. There's only enough for one. It's not magic."

"Like the stove you're cooking it on isn't?"

Ukai paused, looking down at the gas stove. If there weren't power lines, why on earth would there have been gas lines? Dammit.

Kuroo laughed like he had read Ukai's mind. "Don't worry, it took me a long time to catch on as well. But you might want to make more of something, you've got some company coming."

"What?" Ukai turned back around, immediately thinking about how many candles he'd have to light. "Who? How many?"

"Just some people who want to say thanks." Kuroo idly batted at a balled up napkin left on the table. "That was very nice, what you did today, you know. Very Guardian-like, the coyotes especially were impressed."

"So that one is a coyote?" Ukai scratched his head. "I thought it was just a small wolf."

Kuroo snorted. "I think that's what he wants everyone to think." Then he straightened up, looking out the front door. "Well, here they come. Oh, looks like they brought something. Maybe you won't need to cook for all of them. Some tea would be nice, however."

"You want some tea, don't you?"

Kuroo's teeth flashed as he grinned. "I'll get the candles." He dashed down to the cellar, and Ukai set aside his bowl. The soup could wait, he supposed. Quickly clearing off the few books he had on the table, he pulled out the kettle and began readying tea. It didn't take long for whoever was coming to make it up the hill, and he was surprised to hear a gentle knock. _So they do know manners,_ he huffed to himself, then turned to look.

Three people stood in his doorway, heights so wildly different that Ukai wondered for a moment if they were all fully transformed. The shortest was in front, a small girl with blonde hair and big eyes. She was holding on tightly to some sort of woven basket, and grinned shyly when Ukai made eye contact. Right beside her, a boy of average height with darker hair and freckles grinned, and Ukai blinked rapidly. That had to be the rabbit he cut loose. Which meant the third boy who was absolutely towering over the other two was most likely one of the coyotes or the deer. He narrowed his eyes, watching Ukai carefully. Yeah, definitely the deer.

"Um, hello!" The girl called brightly, gripping the basket tighter. "I know you probably don't recognize us, but we wanted to stop by and thank you for saving Tadashi today!"

"I'm Tadashi," the freckled boy introduced quickly, then offered out his hand awkwardly. "I'm the rabbit you pulled out of that rope."

"Ukai," he smirked, shaking the hand firmly. "Glad to see you're walking okay."

"It wasn't that bad," the tallest boy snorted, and the blonde girl started in front of him.

"Of course it was! He could have been stuck forever if he didn't have that knife!" She spun back around, eyes almost brimming with tears already. "I'm Yachi. I made you these!" She shoved the basket at Ukai, and he scrambled to right it while she rubbed at her eyes. "They're not much, because we're rabbits, but I did my best! You might think they're gross, but they're really good for you, and they'll be good if you take any more long hikes and forget to bring food like today!" She froze, then slapped a hand over her mouth. Behind her, the tall boy sighed. "I mean, not that we were watching you! We weren't! We were just, um."

"Tsukishima." He rolled his eyes. "They were totally spying on you."

"Only because we hadn't met him yet!" Tadashi argued, and Ukai had to stop himself from laughing.

"It's fine, really, I'm kind of used to it by now." The two in front had the heart to look ashamed, and Ukai gestured towards the table. "Please, go ahead and come in. Kuroo and I are getting some tea ready--"

"I'm not helping," the person in question snorted, lighting a couple candles that were hanging from the ceiling. In addition to cleaning up, Ukai had spent some time installing lantern looking things. Well, he was trying. It was a work in progress. At least they spread the light around the room a little better.

Ukai shoved the basket at Kuroo, who fumbled with the matches before he caught it, and looked close to hissing as Ukai moved off towards the fireplace where the kettle was close to boiling. "I grabbed some green tea, hope you're all fine with that."

"Oh, yes, any tea is fine!" Yachi sat quickly on one of the chairs, Tadashi and Tsukishima pulling theirs close to her before sitting as well. "I'm sure anything you make is lovely."

"Just because he's human doesn't mean he's a good cook," Tadashi whispered not that subtly, and Ukai rolled his eyes as the boy continued. "His grandpa wasn't all that amazing, remember?"

"Well, he made decent cakes!" Yachi argued back, and Kuroo cut in smoothly.

"So what are these things you made?"

"Oh! Seed buns! Well," she giggled nervously, "That's what I call them. They've got some veggies in them as well!"

"Veggies from Ukai's garden?" Kuroo pressed, and Ukai didn't have to look to know that Yachi was blushing again.

"U-um, not...not technically!"

"Do you usually eat from the garden?" Ukai wondered aloud, pulling out five mugs. Should he grab more? He had no idea if any more of them were going to show up. Well, he'd probably have to make more tea anyways. Might as well just wait and grab the mugs then.

"Sometimes! Or, we used to," Yachi corrected herself as Ukai divided out the leaves. "Ukai--your grandpa, that is, always said his gardens were open to anyone that needed it. So we didn't do it often, but sometimes! The only times when we really come around for food is during the winter."

"But that's a long way off," Tadashi cut her off with a small smile, and Ukai somehow balanced all five mugs over to the table, to Kuroo's entertainment. He eagerly reached for his, and Ukai passed out the remaining mugs while Tadashi finished, "So you don't have to worry about that for a while."

"So, it's like...family dinner every night in the winter?" Ukai snorted while he sat down, and Tadashi and Yachi's faces lit up.

"No, but that would be so cool!"

"Oh my gosh, we should start doing that more often!"

"That's a bad idea," Tsukishima commented, but the other two steamrolled over him.

"Imagine everyone getting together!!"

"We all haven't been together for so long!"

"It'd be so fun seeing everyone all in one place again!"

Kuroo muttered out of the side of his mouth, "It honestly would be a bad idea to have everyone in the house at once."

Ukai lifted a subtle eyebrow at him. "Worse than you popping up whenever you feel like it?" Kuroo smirked back, and Ukai was pulled back into the conversation as Yachi asked if it'd be possible.

Somehow, by around 2 in the morning, Ukai had agreed to start having 'family meals' once a week. Yachi and her boys were going to be the ones spreading the word, and Kuroo managed to get unwillingly roped into helping make the meal. Yachi and Tadashi were both incredibly talkative and friendly, and he almost felt like they were his own younger siblings by the time they told their third story. They were always jumping over each other to finish sentences, giggling quite a bit when it happened. Tsukishima, though slouched and disinterested the entire time, was even pleasant once he got comfortable. There seemed to be a tense sort of energy between him and Kuroo, but Ukai didn't press, and he wasn't sure Yachi even noticed. Tsukishima was witty, as well, and caught Ukai by surprise a few times with his snide remarks. He was the one who convinced the other two it was time to go, practically pulling them out the door. They waved goodbye to the three younger kids, and Kuroo's hand dropped as soon as they were out of sight.

"I'm shit at cooking, I'll have you know."

Ukai snorted. "Something tells me they won't care."

"They won't, no." Kuroo shivered. "Bokuto and the rest will. Sheesh, Oikawa would probably tear me apart if I messed up a meal. Not that he has any room to talk. Suga doesn't look it, but he's got a mean streak as well. Devil in disguise, that one."

"Yeah, yeah," Ukai laughed, "Whatever." He gathered up the mugs and dumped them in the sink. He'd wash them tomorrow morning at some point. Since he hadn't gotten too much done today, he'd have to head to the store tomorrow. Especially since it was his last day as a free man. Who knew when he'll have time to run errands when his Guardianly duties kicked in?

Kuroo stretched out across the now empty table, firelight flickering across his face. "You nervous yet?"

"What?" Ukai made a face. "Nervous? Me? No." He paused, then looked over out of the corner of his eye. "About what, though?"

Kuroo snorted, eyes closing contentedly. "Guardian duties. You're totally worried."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Okay, so what if I am!" Ukai threw his hands in the air, turning around. "So what?! I'm just some random guy who's getting dunked headfirst into this mess! You can't tell me you wouldn't be overwhelmed if this happened to you."

Kuroo watched him for a moment, then his eye slowly blinked closed again. "I suppose."

"You suppose?" Ukai deadpanned. "That's your wise advice, oh great forest spirit?"

Kuroo's chest rumbled deep with laughter. "Oh, man, I wish Kenma would have heard that. Man, I am not one of the forest spirits. They're a lot worse than me about some of this stuff. A few of them are also a lot more like the animals they turn into."

"They also wouldn't be stretched out across my table, either, would they?"

Kuroo grinned. "No comment."

Ukai rolled his eyes, blowing out a few of the candles. He was already resigned to only getting half answers, especially out of this cat. Guy. Cat-guy. He'd probably have to wait until Daichi rolled around again to get anything straightened out. "I'm headed to bed. You can stick around if you want, I don't care. Grocery list is on the counter if you have requests, and make sure the fire goes down a bit before you leave."

"Yes sir, Guardian, sir!"

"Eat shit."

"Goodnight," Kuroo sang back with a laugh, and Ukai closed his door with a sigh. At least his bedroom was his own. He had to have a break every once in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> try and tell me that yamaguchi wouldn't be the cutest freakin rabbit. go ahead. try.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> infodump chapter lol get ready
> 
> also if anyone read my other fic stepping stones, fujii shows up here, so you know what that means ;)

Ukai woke up with a face full of fur and the very distinct thought that _not even his bedroom is his own anymore._

With a puff and a cough, Ukai sat up, abruptly dislodging whatever was leaning against his face. It _mrowed_ in surprise, tail flicking back and forth as the black cat turned to glare at him. Ukai glared back. "My face? Seriously?"

Kuroo sniffed loudly and then curled up once more, reluctant to get up. It was barely past dawn, only around 8 in the morning, which meant that he must have gotten into his bedroom not all that long ago. Ukai looked down at his oddly warm feet, then pointed, looking back at Kuroo. "At least they're by my feet!"

Kuroo turned even further away from him, and Ukai sighed. Then paused. He looked up, counting. Kuroo was by his waist, the small calico cat was by his right knee--that one was Kenma. There was a third cat on his feet. It was a soft grey, curled up cutely, somewhere in size between Kenma and Kuroo with a fluffy tail and slim legs. Which one was that?

"Do you guys just multiply overnight?" Ukai asked with a whine, but none of the cats answered. _Because they're cats, Keishin, they can't talk._ Shaking his head, he slid out of bed, carefully so he didn't disturb the other two that were still asleep. It was a rather chilly spring morning, and he grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it on quickly before moving to go out into the main room. No doubt they'd left the main door open. Or maybe it was the windows they were coming in? It hadn't rained yet, so he didn't remember closing the windows. That was probably how they were getting in. Yet as he opened the door to the living area, he sighed, seeing the front entry propped wide open.

And then he saw the pile of wolves by his fireplace.

"Holy--" Ukai leaped away, almost running into the table. He grabbed one of the chairs to steady himself, breathing deeply. _Why are you still so surprised? Why are you even surprised at all that these animals keep waltzing in? Kuroo called himself your housemate. That should make it obvious enough they thought they were welcome to come and go as they pleased._

And it _was_ pretty cold. Ukai grimaced. He couldn't imagine himself sleeping outside willingly when he could have a warm fireplace to curl up by. Edging around the nearest wolf--an absolutely massive brown one, like holy shit, it might as well be a bear--he reached to stoke the coals a bit, reigniting one measly log. There, that should be enough to keep them warm while he ran to the store. The other wolves were all curled around the small grey one in the center that also passed as a coyote. Noya, was that its name? Or was that the other one? Daichi referred to a Noya at one point. They were splayed out haphazardly in the middle, their paws hitting all of their companions at once. The other coyote was in between the mess of paws and another brown wolf, with streaks of grey around his shoulders, and the silver wolf that Ukai remembered turning into Suga. On the other side, with just his hind legs wedged between the bear-wolf and the coyote, the last wolf was mostly grey and white, scarred muzzle shoved as close to the fire as it could get.

"Dogs and cats," Ukai whispered, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. "I got a cottage that came included with dogs and cats. And some birds." He sighed, confirming that both windows were open. Well, he would quickly become desensitized to random houseguests, if anything.

Quietly, he moved around and got ready to head out, grabbing his backpack and laptop. If he was right, there was a cafe in town, and he could probably get some coffee and maybe get some work done before heading over to Takeda's store. After washing his face and throwing on some jeans and shoes, he left, feeling weird about leaving his door open. Not like there was much to steal, anyways. Just some cat food.

The cafe was much bigger and busier than he remembered, but he managed to snag a corner table by the window. Someone brought his coffee and bagel out to him while he booted up his laptop for the first time since he had arrived here. Urgently, he plugged in both his phone and his laptop. Yeah, he'd definitely need to get electricity or some sort of substitute up there ASAP.

A few emails from a couple of his friends, which he replied to quickly enough. After mindlessly scrolling through the internet for a few minutes, he found himself pulling up a word document so he could make a list.

_Kuroo: black long haired cat, doesn't shut up, somehow a representative, not a forest spirit_

_Kenma: Kuroo's friend, calico cat, room temperature food_

_???: there's two coyotes, one's big, the other steals my stuff, one is named Noya_

_Daichi: ???, main representative, most willing to give answers_

_Suga: grey wolf, likes donuts, makes tea_

_Oikawa: ???, Soft Hair guy, a representative?_

_Iwaizumi: ???, angry_

_Akaashi: ???, knows too much_

_Bokuto: Big owl, loud representative_

_Kageyama: crow, really quiet_

_Tadashi: freckly rabbit, nice kid_

_Yachi: scared sandy rabbit, nice kid_

_Tsukishima: asshole deer kid_

_???: grey cat?? on my bed_

_???: bear wolf, brown wolf, grey wolf_

This was entirely too many people to try and keep track of.

He sighed, shooting the list over to his phone. He seemed to be doing okay keeping track of names so far, and he was sure there was only more to come. Next on his list was figuring out which ones were forest spirits, and what exactly that meant. No, immediately next on his list was figuring out what the hell his grandpa had to do with a bunch of kids getting stuck as animals. The way Akaashi had spoken about it, it sounded like it was his grandfather's fault.

Once he had finished his coffee, he packed everything up and made his way to Takeda's store. He caught him as he was switching around the sign, and Takeda waved brightly.

"Morning, Ukai! How goes it?"

"It's going," Ukai smirked, hands in his pockets. "I've got a few questions, if you've got the time."

"As long as it doesn't interrupt your studying," Takeda snorted, and at Ukai's questioning gaze, pointed to his backpack before waving him in. "I don't think I've seen you use a backpack since we were 15. You didn't even use one all the way through high school."

Ukai smiled, looking around the store as he stepped in. "Just had a few things more to carry around today. Which brings me to my first question." He flipped his backpack around, going to unzip it with one strap still around his shoulder. "I _am_ interested in the job, if you're still offering. I don't have a lot of time, but I think I can manage--"

"Wait, are you about to give me a resume?"

Ukai looked up at Takeda, frowning. "That's usually what someone does when they apply for a job, yes."

Takeda stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. He leaned heavily on the counter next to him, finally gathering enough breath to say, "Who are you and what have you done with Keishin?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean…" Takeda gestured vaguely, still grinning widely. "You're so organized! And professional! What on earth did city living do to you? Also, I've known you since we were five. I don't need your resume."

Ukai scowled further to hide his blush, instead setting his backpack down by the counter. "Fine. No resume then. But I was serious about the availability."

"Oh, that's no problem." He shrugged. "Your grandpa only came in a couple days a week anyways. How about we start you on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays, and we can adjust from there?"

Ukai nodded, "Sounds good." He didn't think three days out of the week would be too much for him to miss out on, especially since he could still do his Guardian things in the morning and at night after close. He could also get his errands done on those days, leaving more time on his other days for them. Yeesh, he was taking this so seriously already. Maybe Takeda was right, and he'd gotten too serious out there.

"Oh, also." Ukai hesitated, unsure how to broach the topic. "You mentioned animals before. Would you...happen to know anything else about them?"

"About the wildlife up on the mountains?" Takeda snorted, organizing a rack next to him. "I assume it's mostly birds and small animals. There's not usually any wolves in these parts, maybe a couple coyotes and a few deer, but nothing bigger. Nothing that some chicken wire wouldn't keep out most of them from your garden."

"Okay. Alright." Ukai turned and looked out at the aisles. Not really what he wanted, but...he'll take it. Besides, he doesn't want to push too far already.

"Why, you already got something giving you trouble?"

Ukai snorted. "Cats, mostly."

"Your grandfather's cat came back?" Takeda blinked in surprise, making Ukai look at him. "Oh man, everyone thought it was dead! It stopped coming into town right after he died and no one's seen it since. How's he looking?"

Annoying, mostly. "Fine, I guess. Picky eater, though."

Takeda grinned, "Like owner like cat, I suppose."

He smiled back, and then, since the moment was light, decided to throw him for a curve. "Do you think forest spirits are real?"

Takeda paused, obviously confused by the quick change in topic. _Smooth, Ukai._ "I know the stories about them are. Why?"

Ukai shrugged, looking awkwardly over at some shelves. "Just been thinking about them lately, I guess. You always remembered the stories better than I did."

"True." He heard Takeda's hands still, and then pick up again as they began organizing something else. "I mean, I know a lot of the elders around town always spoke about the shifters, but for the most part, the forest spirits were just animals."

"Shifters?" Ukai questioned, hoping his tone seemed more light than he felt.

"Apparently some forest spirits got ahold of some magic that wasn't their own and learned how to turn into humans or something. They aren't very good at it, and usually it's easy to pick out which ones are more animal than human, especially the ones who were animals for longer. I don't know," Takeda laughed, "It's a weird story that changes every time you hear it. I always just found it funny to picture a bird pretending to be human."

Ukai pictured Bokuto face-planting off the windowsill, and laughed. "Yeah, I agree with you on that one." He sighed. So there wasn't much more than he already knew. He'd definitely have to look more into which animals were coming into his house, though.

Takeda told him about which herbs he wanted Ukai to bring with him when he showed up for his shifts, and they agreed on a schedule easily. He hung around for a bit more before grabbing his groceries and leaving, being sure to get more donuts and a few other kinds as well, since they had been a big hit. He had more groceries than usual to haul back up the path, since he was buying for god knows how many people, but he made it. As far as he could tell, the only animal left was the grey cat, which was still sleeping on his bed. 

With the few hours of daylight left, he got to work planning his planting. It was a little late in the season to put more vegetables in the ground, but he hoped it was still cool enough in the mornings that it could be overlooked. They'd just come up late or really small, probably. That was how plants worked, right?

He had no idea how plants worked.

Almost annoyed, he went into his house and started looking through the books for anything on planting. He wasn't looking forward to trying to decipher his grandfather's chicken scratch, but it was better than just guessing and eventually screwing something up. Finally, he found a book, and after putting on some tea for the eventual guests he knew would show up, settled down with a couple of his candle-lanterns lit to read.

Thankfully, most of these notes were neater, as if his grandfather had taken his time copying them out. They were straightforward as well, saying good times of the month to plant and cut back just about everything he had in his garden and even a few things he hadn't seen. Next to each entry was the date they were last harvested, and he wasn't all that surprised to find that his grandfather hadn't done it the past couple years. From the looks of things when he had gotten here, he probably hadn't done much of anything.

Just as the last of the orange glow was shining through his west windows, a howl echoed outside, and Ukai looked up in surprise as a couple of the members of the dog pile from this morning tumbled through the door. Just behind them were a fox and a crow, each adding their own calls to the noise.

"This is fine," Ukai muttered, watching as the grey and white wolf with the scars tackled the bigger coyote almost into the fire. With a low rumble, the smaller of the of the brown wolves padded through the door. At his growl, the two that were wrestling immediately jumped apart, and Ukai could have sworn the coyote grinned. The smaller coyote jumped back out through the front door just as the sun set, and Ukai's heart stopped as he watched their transformation in front of him.

Instead of being scared out of his mind, this time, he had a little bit more of his senses to pay attention with. From what he could see, the transformation was rather smooth, like looking at something smudged through the fog before their forms grew and settled on something human shaped. Some seemed to have more of a golden tint to them, such as the silver wolf that came through the door in the middle of his transformation. Suga skidded awkwardly to a stop, a wild grin on his face as he looked at Ukai, sitting at the table with wide eyes.

"Did you get more donuts?"

Ukai pointed behind him, and Suga turned around with a pleased squeal. On the floor, what had been the grey and white wolf with the scars was now a boy with long legs and a shaved head, sitting with them splayed out and a massive grin on his face. Next to him, the bigger coyote was squatting, looking not much taller than he had been as an animal. His dark hair was lifted up and away from his face, giving the child-like eyes a much more devious look from where they sat under dyed bangs.

"God _damn_ it feels good to be back," Shaved Head laughed, and the coyote boy laughed wildly next to him.

There was a scuffling under the table, and a head of bright orange hair popped up with a shout. "Kageyamaaaaa let go!"

Ukai took one look at his hair and decided that had to be the fox. He was as tiny as the coyote boy, big brown eyes making him easy to pick out as the youngest one Ukai had met yet. He keeled over suddenly as another boy sat up, the crow from the first meeting. He turned around, fixing his steely blue gaze on Ukai.

"Good to see you again, Guardian."

Ukai tried and failed not to smile at the formality of his tone. "Right back atcha, Kageyama."

"Suga, please, save some for the rest of us!" Daichi was standing up from where he had transformed, and Ukai now realized how similar his pelt color was to his eyes. Daichi's smile was fond but desperate, and he shot Ukai an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, he's insatiable, really--"

There was a human squeal from outside, immediately followed by, "No, wait, please don't pull so hard--"

"Found him, Daichi!"

Coming through the doorway was a rather short girl, her dark hair shining even in the dark as she grinned. She pulled behind her a massive man who looked entirely too big to be pulled around by someone so small. "Asahi was trying to duck out again!"

"Oh, so you can nap here, but you won't meet him?" Shaved Head called up from the floor, and coyote boy laughed again as he added, "Typical Asahi!"

Asahi, the large man, was blushing deeply, and Ukai felt like this was a common theme. Slowly, he turned to Daichi, who quickly looked away from where he had been staring at the bag of donuts.

"So, who have you brought me this time?" Ukai questioned, and Daichi smiled and gestured to everyone behind him. 

"This is my pack!"

"Not all of us are wolves, Daichi," came an annoyed voice from the doorway, and Ukai glanced up to see Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and Yachi walking through the doorway.

"Oh, good, that's everyone!" Suga smiled, hands full of donuts. "Now all we're missing is Kiyoko--"

"No, I'm here."

That was quite possibly the quietest voice Ukai had ever heard. Surprised, he turned to look at his doorway, and out walked a girl rubbing her eyes tiredly. Ukai nearly dropped his mug of tea, and hurried to set it down before he did. She was gorgeous, almost unfairly so, and the room immediately brightened as she walked in.

"Kiyoko!" Shaved Head almost shrieked, and coyote boy scrambled to pull out a chair for her. She sat with a blush, waving to Ukai.

"Hello. Thanks for letting me nap on your bed."

Ukai cleared his throat. "N-Not a problem, Kiyoko. Nice to meet you."

Daichi waved, and Shaved Head tore his gaze away from her to blush and smile at Ukai. "I'm Tanaka!"

Coyote boy grinned. "Noya."

There's one he could cross off the list.

Kageyama called hello again from where he was still trying to untangle himself from the chair and the fox boy next to him, who called out brightly, "I'm Hinata, and I'm going to be the best sorcerer there ever was!"

"Sounds good to me," Ukai grinned, and looked up to the last two, who both smiled.

"Asahi," he held out a hand with a small smile. "Nice to meet you."

Ukai shook it, then turned to the last girl, the one who had pulled Asahi through the door. "Fujii." He squinted at her for a second, and then it clicked. He knew why her dark eyes looked so familiar.

"You're the one who keeps taking all my stuff! The coyote!"

She snorted, "Taking it _to you._ You're welcome, by the way."

Daichi sighed behind him, then smiled. "I just wanted you to meet everyone! Well, not everyone, because there's obviously Oikawa's and Kuroo's packs, and Bokuto's flock is somewhere out west currently, but--"

"We couldn't wait to meet you!" Hinata interrupted, still sitting cross-legged next to Kageyama on the ground. 

"Oh, so no special occasion?" Ukai snorted, and Daichi smiled. 

"Not really, no. These guys are going to be the ones you'll see the most, since they live closest to Karasuno, so I figured some formal introductions would be best."

"Which are obviously done by now," Tanaka was quick to interrupt, looking around. "Now where's the food!"

In order to help appease his "pack", Daichi and Fujii quickly dished out the tea to those who wanted it. With Yachi and Suga's help, Ukai was able to whip up a meal rather quickly. The groceries he had gotten today had a significant dent in them, but thanks to Kuroo's additions, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. After dinner--held outside because there were way too many people in his cottage, and which was mostly the different boys bragging about who was the strongest in some weird attempt to impress both Ukai and Kiyoko--more tea was served alongside the pastries from town, and slowly, everyone drifted off into their own conversations.

Ukai and Daichi sat in a couple chairs at the top of the hill, Suga leaning back on Daichi's calves and holding a fresh cup of tea close. Hinata, Yachi, and Kageyama were at the bottom of the hill, trying to get Tsukishima into some sort of game of tag, with Asahi and Fujii watching quietly and laughing loudly, respectively. The rest of the group was scattered about, a lot of them stretching.

Like, a lot of them.

"Is...that a thing?" Ukai asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

Daichi hummed, then turned his head. "Is what a thing?"

"The stretching." Ukai pointed to Tanaka, who was sprawled on the ground with a leg tossed cross-ways while Yamaguchi laughed and pulled an arm behind himself. "They've been doing it all night."

"Mmm, sometimes it takes a couple hours to settle into your bones," Daichi answered thoughtfully, watching his group intently. "The younger ones, especially, and those who weren't human before."

"Not--" Ukai almost choked on his tea, setting it down carefully. "Not human?"

Daichi smirked, and Suga leaned his head back to look up through his bangs at him. "Should I get more tea?"

"Definitely," Daichi answered, and Suga clambered to his feet, taking his mug and the sack of donuts with him. As he moved into the cottage, Daichi settled down into his chair, much like he had on the first night. Slowly, he began.

"Your grandfather, even when he was young, was widely known in the magic world. He came from a long line of sorcerers, each more powerful than his predecessor. With great power that young comes an innate curiosity...and an arrogance." Daichi sighed. "He experimented quite often with magic, which is a dangerous thing to do. Thankfully, his specialty was luck, so he never quite caught the full consequences of the things he messed around with. In doing so, however, he made quite the name for himself, and soon attracted students."

Ukai leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, watching Daichi's face settle into something between nostalgia and weariness.

"The first of his students were Kuroo and myself. We came from a few towns over to learn from him when we were only 14."

Ukai blinked. So that meant Daichi had to be at least as old as his grandfather, despite only looking around 19. 

Magic. Sheesh.

"Next was Iwaizumi, about a year after us," Daichi continued slowly, eyes focused on his hands. "And Kiyoko and Asahi, after him. We learned everything we could from your grandfather, including some of the more experimental spells. We were young, and stupid. We thought nothing could touch us." He looked up at the sky now, eyes focused on the stars. "After three years, more students began to come. Akaashi and Fujii, from a town to the north. Tanaka, from the south. Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Kageyama were some of the last to arrive."

Ukai counted off in his head. That left nearly half of them out. "So where did--"

"I'm getting there," Daichi interrupted politely, smiling patiently over at him. "One of the things he encouraged was a familiar, or a patron animal. It was believed that having a familiar brought you closer to nature, and therefore increased your magical ability. Iwaizumi carried that Otter everywhere, it was so spoiled," Daichi broke off in a chuckle. "Asahi's coyote was an absolute menace, and that damned owl--" He sighed. "It wasn't long after he broke through the secret of transformation."

"Transformation? Like, what you guys do every night?"

"It wasn't always every night," Daichi told him, eyebrows raised. "We used to be able to do it at will. We practiced on ourselves at first, getting used to it until it was so familiar that we could do it without really thinking. It was incredible. The first time I transformed into a wolf, I think I ran around this forest the entire night." His eyes were distant, swept away in the memory. "We cast the spell on our familiars next, and they turned human. They got to choose their own names, though Bokuto wasn't very creative with his. It took a long time for them to adjust to being human, but then again, a few of us still aren't very used to being animals."

Daichi's expression hardened. "It wasn't long after that all of his consequences caught up with him."

Suga came back at that point, handing Daichi a mug and settling on the ground in the position he had been before. Daichi set a hand on his head, then continued, voice tight.

"By this point, his wife had taken their two children and left to go live in town. He was completely enrapt in his work, content to let us run around like the mindless teenagers we were with our new powers. Unfortunately, that meant a couple spirits were caught in the crossfires of our experiments." He shook his head, saying sadly, "The one thing we never learned from him was caution. He never warned us about what could happen if you screw with the way things are. Nature has a way of coming and taking back what's hers."

"The forest spirits aren't bad for the most part," Suga offered into Daichi's silence as he collected himself. "Only a couple of them, really. In fact, there's a few that we hang around with quite often that are pleasant!"

"But still dangerous," Daichi looked right at Ukai. "Spirit magic is not something to tamper with, but your grandfather had a way of sticking his nose where it didn't belong. In learning how to control spirit magic, he lost everything else he had. One of the Ancients, the oldest spirits in the forest, offered him a choice, and he chose wrong, and failed the test. They stripped his powers and cursed the rest of us." Daichi looked away. "Every day, we would be the animals we always played as, and could only become human at night. The only magic he had left was in order to make sure he didn't die before his punishment wore off."

Ukai looked away as well, over to where Yachi was now leaning against Tsukishima as she and Yamaguchi spoke. How long had they been trapped like this?

"And so his students were stuck in the forms they once used to love," Suga finished quietly, shuffling against Daichi's legs to get more comfortable. "Because of his tampering with things he had no business involving himself in, they were transformed and remained young forever, while he was cursed to grow old and watch, powerless, at what he had done."

The night was silent, save for the occasional bright peal of laughter that would ring out from one of the people gathered. The clearing was quiet, peaceful, and Ukai had a hard time imagining that something so tragic could have ever happened here. These people had been stuck here, for so long, because of his grandfather. There were so many people to remember, so many rules, and he didn't know anything about magic.

_What if I make the same mistakes?_

"Oh, man, incoming--" Suga hissed, and barely had time to brace himself before Fujii flopped on the ground in front of them, a wide grin across her face that reminded Ukai of the expression she usually wore as a coyote.

"What's with all the long faces?" She asked, settling back on the grass in front of them. "Oh, by the way--" She tossed something to Ukai, who caught it quickly, almost dropping his tea in the process. Confused, he saw his phone, and looked up at Fujii, who shrugged. "Felt like you needed it."

Confused, Ukai thought about how he had been thinking about taking notes. Was that what she meant? Before he could ask, Daichi sighed. "Speaking of talents, Fujii's is impressions."

"I can read minds," she grinned at Ukai, whose eyes widened, and Suga snorted into his mug.

"No you can't, you're not that good."

She frowned. "Thanks for ruining the joke. I thought we were supposed to haze him."

"I'm sure Kuroo did a fine job of that himself," Daichi responded with a roll of his eyes, and Ukai sat up, pushing his phone into his sweatshirt pocket.

"Speaking of that furry asshole, where is he?" Ukai made a face. "I would've been sure he wouldn't miss out on a free meal."

"Probably because Tsukki's here," Suga answered, and then blinked. "Oops, wait. Was I not supposed to talk about that?" Fujii snickered, and Ukai looked down at them.

"What would Tsukishima have to do with it?"

"They have…" Fujii waved her hand in the air, contemplative. "A history? Not quite romantic, because they never actually got around to dating, but something like that." She snorted. "But honestly, no one gets hung up on that stuff anymore. When it's been sixty years with the same dating pool, things like that stop mattering."

Ukai stared at her, mind trying and failing to grasp quite what she meant. Fujii grinned at him. "Just keep putting things on your list, Ukai."

"How do you know about my list?" Ukai frowned, and Suga looked wide eyed up at Daichi.

"Damn, maybe she can finally read minds."

"No, she can't, she probably just read his phone," Daichi reasoned, and Fujii shrugged, leaning back on her hands and looking back out across the grass with a smile.

"A magician never reveals their secrets!"

Ukai followed her gaze and realized he had a lot to learn about these people he was supposed to be guarding. 

The forest settled in around them, and waited.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright i'm gonna try and speed the plot up a little bit. if something's wonky just shoot me a message
> 
> also everyone's like 80 but they still act like teenagers and i've been laughing about that the whole time

Ukai woke up at ten the next day, dry eyed and feeling like he hadn't gotten enough sleep at all. Honestly, if he had to stay up late like that every night, these people would need to understand that he had to sleep in, too.

The same soft scratching that had woken him up started again, and blearily, Ukai climbed out of bed, careful not to disturb the grey cat on the end of his bed.

"Mornin', Kiyoko," he yawned, reaching for a t-shirt. The cat responded by moving to curl up on the warm spot where his head had been, tucking her face under her paws. He nodded, "Yeah, same." Finally clothed, he opened his bedroom door to figure out which animal was responsible for waking him up.

On the floor right in front of him, a small calico cat looked up at him. "Mew."

"Morning, Kenma," Ukai sighed, and followed as Kenma led the way over to where his food was stashed. 

_"Kenma swings by every couple of days," Daichi told him last night. "We're not too sure what he does, but he's one of the older spirits and only really talks to Kuroo, so we just kind of let him do whatever he wants."_

"Here you go, bud." Ukai set the bowl on the counter, watching as Kenma hopped up primly to eat. Rubbing at his eyes, he looked over, and to his credit, didn't even flinch when he saw the dogpile in front of his fireplace. As usual, everyone was pretty much on top of each other, with Tanaka's tail this time dangerously close to the embers.

_"Tanaka and Noya are going to mooch off of you as much as possible. They prefer chicken, and honestly, if you get the shitty breasts at the store that are super cheap and mix it with, like, canned dog food, they won't notice at all. Asahi will eat anything you put in front of him because he's too nice to complain, and Fujii honestly doesn't care. Everyone else will probably just eat out of your garden or show up at sunset."_

"What time are you guys gonna get up?" Ukai called over.

No one moved.

"No time estimate?" Ukai lifted an eyebrow, and Asahi at least turned his massive head around to blink at him. Ukai sighed. "Fine." Might as well get some gardening done before they got up.

Now wearing his oldest, dirtiest clothes he had, thanks to day four, he trudged out into the yard. (He changed in the bathroom. Sleeping cat or not, Kiyoko was still a lady.) He started with the couple of weeds that had sprung up since his last purge and laid out the seed packets in front of him, planning where to put what. It was monotonous work, digging and digging and planting and watering and digging, and soon, his mind started to drift.

_"Any other relationships I should know of so I don't seem insensitive?" Ukai asked, looking pointedly down at Suga, still leaning on Daichi's legs._

_Suga smiled. "Daichi and I have pretty much been together forever, so there's one."_

_"Yachi and her boys!" Fujii added, pointing down the hill. "Snagged 'em both, the lucky gal."_

_Ukai blinked. Alright. Okay. Two rabbits and a deer. When did he stumble into Bambi?_

_"Asahi and Noya have been dancing around each other forever," Suga told him, ignoring Daichi's amused and embarrassed grin. "Tanaka's flirted with just about everyone on the mountain, some trees included." Ukai and Fujii laughed, and Suga continued, "Other than Oikawa and Iwaizumi, everyone else is still kind of...tentative about things, especially after Bokuto's Big Blowup."_

_Ukai heard the implied capital letters, and looked down at him. "Big blowup?"_

_Fujii grimaced. "Yikes, that was ugly for a while there."_

_Daichi sputtered, "You were half of the cause!"_

_"Was not!" Fujii argued back. "They were all thinking it, I just said it out loud!"_

_"Didn't anyone ever teach you 'silence is golden'?" Daichi retorted, and Fujii crossed her arms._

_"It's been ten years, man. Let it go."_

_"What happened?" Ukai asked, lost, and Suga rolled his eyes._

_"Impressions, Daichi calls them. I say Fujii's talent is eavesdropping."_

_"It's not like I can help it!" Fujii threw an arm out to the side. "Bokuto could literally not stop thinking about Kuroo! How was I supposed to know that mentioning it in front of Akaashi--who was wondering the same thing--would be that bad?!"_

_Daichi sighed, explaining, "Kuroo and Bokuto fucked around for a bit, and Bokuto was getting into it, and then Kuroo started seeing Kenma, and Fujii heard Bokuto thinking about it while Akaashi was trying to flirt with Bokuto, and she brought it up, and Bokuto practically imploded. It was...messy, to say the least."_

_"Oh," Ukai nodded. "Alright. So, don't mention that."_

_Fujii grinned. "Not unless you want to witness one of Bokuto's meltdowns first hand." From the way Daichi and Suga smiled, Ukai decided that he definitely did not want to._

He'd really need to update his list. And also put a lock code on his phone. And buy more groceries.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ukai saw a flash of movement, and turned to watch as two familiar looking rabbits jumped their way into his backyard. The completely ignored him and went straight for the front of the house, and he sighed, turning back to his gardening. He had gotten a significant chunk done, and only had a couple more rows of vegetables to plant. Hopefully it was still early enough in spring that he could get away with this half-ass planting job.

Once he was done, the sun was higher in the sky, and he wiped his hands on his pants. He'd handle the berries some other day. Grabbing his tools, he threw them in the lean-to at the back of the house before he caught a glance of his bedroom through the window.

There was now a fox and a coyote on the bed, sleeping alongside Kiyoko and Kenma. What did they think this was, the community bed? Maybe he should buy some dog beds. Or cat beds. Or literally _anything else_ for them to sleep on other than his own bed.

The wolves were up but still not really moving much as Ukai wandered into the cottage, kicking off his muddy boots at the door. A few of them had left, leaving only Tanaka and Noya laying there. One of them looked up hopefully as he walked in, and Ukai snorted. "Finally ready to eat, huh?"

They barked loudly, and Ukai smiled before moving over to the sink to wash his hands. Chicken was easy to cook, at least. 

"Make a plate for me, please!"

Ukai dropped the skillet onto the stove, whirling around with tongs brandished in front of him.

Soft Hair held up his hands as he walked out of the bathroom, smirking and not at all afraid. _Shit, no, his name was Oikawa._ Oikawa walked casually across the room, taking a seat at the table. "It's rude to point scary weapons at your guests, Keishin."

Ukai scowled, looking down at the tongs. He tossed them onto the counter, turning back around. "How are you human? It's--" He glanced at his phone screen. "It's only 1 in the afternoon. You're all supposed to be animals."

"Fantastic time-telling skills, truly." Oikawa crossed his legs. "Thankfully, rules don't apply to me."

Ukai blinked. "Why not?"

"Because I'm the most handsome, the most charismatic, the luckiest forest spirit caught in the curse, take your pick." Oikawa waved a hand dismissively, looking at the flowers on the table that Yachi had put there last night. "Only time it works on me is the full moon. Otherwise I can change at will."

_"Oh, yeah, and Oikawa will be by tomorrow to start teaching you how to use magic," Daichi added as it neared four in the morning._

_"What?" Ukai shot him a look. "How is an animal going to teach me anything?"_

_Daichi grinned. "You'll see."_

So this is what he meant. Great.

"Alright, well, practice can wait." Ukai turned around, turning the stove on. "I have some wolf boys to feed."

He heard Oikawa shift behind him, then finally said, "Fine. As long as you give me some, too."

"Deal."

* * *

_Kuroo: black long haired cat, ~~doesn't shut up,~~ **asshole,** somehow a representative, not a forest spirit_

_Kenma: Kuroo's friend, calico cat, room temperature food, old forest spirit_

_~~???(Noya): there's two coyotes, one's big, the other steals my stuff~~ _

_Coyotes: Noya is big, Fujii steals my stuff and can read minds_

_Daichi: ~~???,~~ wolf, main representative, ~~most willing to give answers,~~ knows everything_

_Suga: grey wolf, likes donuts, makes tea_

_Oikawa: ???, Soft Hair guy, a representative? and magic teacher apparently_

_Iwaizumi: ???, angry_

_Akaashi: ???, knows too much_

_Bokuto: Big owl, loud representative, don't mention "Big Blowup"_

_Kageyama: crow, really quiet_

_Hinata: fox, real loud but nice_

_Tadashi: freckly rabbit, nice kid_

_Yachi: scared sandy rabbit, nice kid_

_Tsukishima: asshole deer kid, don't mention kuroo?_

_^^^those three are together_

_~~???~~ Kiyoko: grey cat?? on my bed_

_~~???: bear wolf, brown wolf, grey wolf~~ wolves: big one is asahi and he's nice, grey wolf is tanaka_

* * *

"No, no, _relax!"_ Oikawa sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Why can't you just relax?" 

Ukai gave a scowl to Oikawa from where he was bent over, panting, hands on his knees. "Gee, I don't know." 

Oikawa shot him a frown, then crossed his arms. "Look, you have a natural affinity for magic with the blood you have. If you would just learn to be quiet for one goddamn second--" 

"I haven't said anything!" 

"In your head, Keishin!" Oikawa practically shrieked, and Ukai hung his head low with a groan. 

"Jesus, you've gotta be the worst instructor I've ever had." 

It was silent for a minute in the clearing before Oikawa sighed and sat down on the grass. He had brought them over to where the creek ran slowest, in a small glade that was well lit despite the trees above. They had started off with Ukai trying to summon an orb of light, and things had gone terribly from there. 

"It's not like I wanted to be the teacher," Oikawa mumbled, and Ukai looked over at him, still trying to catch his breath. He was fiddling with a few strands of grass, brow furrowed. "Honestly, I'm probably the least qualified. I'm terrible with people. But, seeing as I'm the only one who's human during the day, there wasn't much choice." 

This time, Ukai sighed, and he sat down as well. "Look, you're not that bad. Maybe if you just start with the basics? Considering I'm a beginner, we'll probably need to start real small if we're going to make any progress." Oikawa glanced up at him, and Ukai offered, "Like, think about the first thing you learned to do. What was it?" 

Oikawa blinked at him. "I've been a spirit for 137 years." 

Ukai blinked back. Wow. That was very old. He looked 17! "Do you...happen to remember what you learned when you were, uh, born?" Was created the proper term? How did spirits work? 

"Not really," Oikawa smirked. "We're pretty much created knowing how to use our magic. Since we're inherently magic, it's like an extra instinct. Humans have to learn to use theirs, like a tool, or a skill, depending on the talent. Picture an artist, okay?" Oikawa held his hands out. "They have a natural talent for it, yes. But, without daily practice, they'll never be as good as they thought. Understand?" 

"So...it's like exercises," Ukai clarified, which made Oikawa nod. Okay, exercises he could understand. Practices. This would be okay. "Well, let's start with the basic ones. What's something super simple?" 

Oikawa smirked. "Got any candles?" 

So Ukai spent the next hour with a candle in front of his house, learning how to tap into his magic and set the candle on fire with nothing more than a look. For the first ten minutes, he felt constipated, with his face screwed up intensely and almost red from how hard he was focusing, but after twenty minutes, it got easier. It was something lodged deep in his chest, something he began to feel was more in reach the more he poked it. Every time he took a deep breath, he imagined dipping his foot into a pool, and focusing on the candle, it would light. He did it over and over and over, until it took only a second for it to light every time. 

"Very good!" Oikawa grinned. "That took Kageyama almost a whole day to get! Granted, he was 15, but no matter." Oikawa waved dismissively, then stood. "Do that often, get used to the feeling of tapping into your power. Once we get a few more basic spells down, it should be easier to figure out what your talent is and then we can go from there." 

Ukai watched as he started moving away, then frowned. "Wait--are you leaving?" 

Oikawa wrinkled his nose. "Um, yes? I'm bored." 

"But--" Ukai looked down at his hands, then stood. "But I barely learned anything!" 

"We'll do more tomorrow!" Oikawa called over his shoulder. "Bye, Keishin!" With a small pop, he transformed and disappeared into the trees, leaving Ukai frowning to himself. 

"Worst teacher ever." 

A meow sounded beside him, and he looked to see a black cat smirking up at him--or whatever a smirk looked like on a cat. Honestly, Kuroo was pretty close with that expression. 

"Kenma's on the bed," Ukai told him, and Kuroo trotted into the cottage, tail high. With a sigh, Ukai moved inside, lighting the candle as he went. 

_Oikawa: ???, Soft Hair guy, a representative? and ~~magic teacher apparently~~ worst teacher ever_

**Author's Note:**

> come scream at me on tumblr (i'm asahiwasabi)


End file.
